cleaners

It could be the person who does a completely different job to yours that has the most interesting stories during the coffee brea

We work eight hours a day, five days a week. It is important that our job feels okay and not just something you do to get cash. To get you psyched no matter what job you’re doing, 365 presents "Seven things you can do at your workplace".

Most workplaces are like schools. Nerds sit with nerds, the cool kids with the cool kids and the sports fans play football outside. You stick to your group, or department.

Make the decision as soon as you leave the house:

- Today I'm having a coffee with someone I don’t know.

One of the most interesting people from my former workplace was one of the cleaners. A tall man with dark hair and twisted teeth. The world's biggest smile and a wave that greeted me every time I passed him in the corridor. The first time I got a coffee with him was on the patio and he told anecdote after anecdote of old television and radio heroes. I sat with him for so long that my colleagues started calling after me. I put my phone on silent, I filled my cup and continued to listen to his stories. How he talked about his children. About a party where he was dressed as a cross dresser. About everything under the sun.

It’s not that we humans are stupid, evil or lazy. We are creatures of habit and fascists of convenience. A coffee with someone we do not know or whose behavior or humor we can’t predict is like jumping from a cliff without a parachute. But once you're sitting there with a coffee in your hand, laughing, you think of your fears and remember them as unwarranted and silly.

Text: Navid Modiri